Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Valencia's power generation

Since his arrival in early June, Danny Valencia has
sustained a very solid batting average and supplemented that with an equally
outstanding on-base percentage (buoyed by batted ball inflation but will
discuss that this offseason). His fairly compact, contact-oriented swing
produced numerous line drives and several that ran the gap for extra bases
helping elevate his slugging percentage to respectable levels. Still, like his
numbers in the upper minor leagues, home runs were hit at a premium.

In his first 257 plate appearances with the Twins, Valencia socked just a pair of round-trippers –
this coming after not hitting any in Rochester
in another 202 plate appearances. Suddenly, over the course of the past five
games and 20 plate appearances, the third baseman has tagged opponents for
three home runs, giving the Twins an added long ball threat in the lower part
of the order as of late.

Here we see Valencia’s isolated power average steadily
rising as the season progresses:

Prior to last night’s game, FSN’s sideline reporter, Ron
Coomer, offered his analysis of Valencia’s swing mechanics, noting that the key
to his recent power bender has been the rookie’s ability to make contact out in
front of his body therefore leveraging his lower half of his body and
generating more torque to launch the ball deep into the September night sky. Said Coomer:

“The thing that he has
been doing lately is he’s been catching the ball out in front. Great stiff
front side, great extension with his head snapping down. When he’s hitting the
ball out front, he’s driving it out of the park.”

Coomer’s observation of Valencia’s leverage is spot-on
however the FSN commentator overlooked a critical element that has been a large
factor for his surge: his leg kick.

Prior to the Cleveland series, Valencia had a muted leg
kick. While at a slight open-stance, the righty would make a small step towards
the plate, then rock back on his front foot while keeping his toe planted with
the exception for a small lift to transfer his weight back. From this side view
during a game against Seattle in August, here is a shot of the apex of Valenica’s
loading:

This was Valencia completely loaded and beginning his drive
towards the ball.

Now compare that to his more recent swing in which Valencia
lifts his front leg and drives forward at the pitcher – generating added power
from his legs then he had down in the past:

Clearly, this shot, captured during his home run against
Jeanmar Gomez on September 20th, reveals that Valencia his loading
his weight significantly better leading to his ability to drive the ball out in
front of his body with that aforementioned leverage noted by Ron Coomer. This
lower-half shift helps generate additional power that his previous mechanics
which are heavily reliant on his upper body.

The following night, on September 21st, Valencia
drove in a pair of runs on a single, we were privy to another angle of this
revamped mechanics to compare to the previous version. Back in August, we can see how little of lift Valencia used
in his front leg:

Comparatively, here’s the same angle before his single in
September:

The early returns for Valencia’s adjusted mechanics are
favorable. His keen batting eye and connectivity have been complimented with a
fusion of power, helping give the Twins a very deep lineup. He’s hitting the
ball with more vigor and, with the playoffs looming less than two weeks away,
the timing could not have been better for Valencia.

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"Parker Hageman is the Michael Cuddyer of Twins bloggers -- not the flashiest guy out there, but a solid everyday player. Hageman produces spot-on analysis ... relying on in-depth stats and lots of charts. He takes a sober, performance-based view of players, letting others fall for a player's heart or his leadership skills in the clubhouse. Hageman is one of the four pillars holding up the Star Tribune's TwinsCentric blog."